PITTSBURGH — Ryan Graves seems to have a chip on his shoulder entering what feels like a pivotal second season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Two weeks into training camp, he’s made it clear to anybody who will listen that he is “still a good player,” “wasn’t as bad last season as people (him) out to be,” and that “people love a negative storyline.”
Maybe Graves is carrying around a whole bag of chips.
It’s probably a good thing, then, that Graves took what he called a “different strategy” to offseason training, which coach Mike Sullivan suggested paid off because Graves arrived at camp “in great shape.”
Graves was given a chance to show it far sooner than most veterans with a long contract. He dressed for the Penguins’ home-and-home series of preseason games Saturday and Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres.
Players on a contract like Graves’ $4.5 million average annual value typically might make it into one of the first couple of preseason games, but not both.
Consider Kris Letang, whom Graves was paired with to begin last season. Letang didn’t play in either game and, like most of his teammates who will make up the opening-night roster, didn’t even attend the games.
There’s a reason for that. Unless they’re new to the group — Graves is not — veterans spend at least one of the first couple of preseason games at home — maybe watching on TV, maybe not.
Sullivan doesn’t need to say Graves was being sent a message. He showed it.
As for what that message is or was, neither Sullivan nor Graves is likely to share it.
That’s for the better.
Despite saying he isn’t bothered by how his performance was received last season — and saying he doesn’t care what the media says — Graves clearly is aware of the narrative that he didn’t live up to being front-office boss Kyle Dubas’ first big free-agent signing.
Regardless, it’s time to move on, and the direction Graves goes is important for the Penguins. Graves playing at his best would help stabilize a defense corps that needs it. If he doesn’t improve and blocks a valuable roster spot simply because he’s well-paid, Sullivan and Dubas would be sending a terrible message to the rest of the team.
Judging any player, especially a veteran, in the first couple of preseason games is asking to look foolish once the real games start. Still, a few of the problem areas for Graves last season have surfaced again this preseason.
He again seemed to struggle to make decisions with the puck on his stick, around the crease and in choosing which opposing player to defend.
It’s one thing for a prospect such as Owen Pickering to figure things out in preseason games. It’s different for a 28-year-old defenseman with six years of NHL experience.
Notably, Graves was paired with Jack St. Ivany in games against the Sabres. The two practiced together throughout camp before Graves was paired with Ryan Shea in Thursday’s practice.
Sullivan often rightly warns against reading into line combinations and defense pairings in the early stages of camp. However, given that Graves looked his best last season when playing with St. Ivany and how things have gone into camp’s second week, it isn’t a leap to wonder if those two defensemen will form the third pairing to begin the season.
If playing outside the top four gets the best out of Graves, so be it. Except that’s not how he sees it.
“I think I was just getting better as the year went along — just with my consistency; it’s not like I was struggling every night,” Graves said earlier this week when asked specifically about playing with St. Ivany. “I think my game was trending in the right direction as the year went along last year. I think that’s probably just a product of that.”
Read into that answer what you will. Maybe Graves expects more of himself than the third pairing, and he should. The Penguins should, too.
Graves has said how much he is looking forward to this season. He gives the vibe of a proud player looking to silence his critics, but it’s Sullivan and Dubas he may need to win over.
Nobody anticipated this time last season that Graves could need to fend off the likes of Shea, John Ludvig, or — when Erik Karlsson is healthy — Sebastian Aho. That will be the vibe sooner than later if Graves’ work fails to match his words.
Erik Karlsson injury update
Still considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, Karlsson did not skate with other injured Penguins before practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex on Thursday. Sullivan said he is not concerned about Karlsson not being ready for the opener on Oct. 9, but Karlsson appears as though he’ll not have practiced during the first two weeks of camp.
He probably doesn’t need to get in shape. But whatever his injury, strength appears to be a limiting factor. Sullivan mentioned Thursday that Karlsson was working with the strength staff to make sure he can “hit the ground running” upon returning to practice.
Karlsson is ticketed to play on the Penguins’ top power-play unit when healthy. That unit is slowly working in some new aspects, specifically Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby maneuvering into traffic areas down low, under new assistant coach David Quinn.
The Penguins want Karlsson to put the puck on the net more often for potential rebound opportunities for Malkin and Crosby. Karlsson didn’t exactly show a fondness for shooting the puck on the power play last season, so getting him some work with the other regulars as soon as possible is a priority.
If nothing else, Quinn needs Karlsson, whom he coached in San Jose, to test the nuances of any differences to the Penguins’ power-play structure compared to what they did together with the Sharks.
Caution is the proper approach with any injured player, let alone one as critical to the Penguins’ chances as Karlsson.
That doesn’t mean Karlsson’s absence from team on-ice sessions at camp isn’t becoming the story of camp. It most certainly is trending in that direction.
Evgeni Malkin’s skates
Sure as the sun rises in the east, Malkin has problems with his skate boots.
“Like always something,” Malkin said Thursday, conceding that he hasn’t felt comfortable with his Bauer skates for “too long.”
So, it’s somewhat surprising Malkin is happy with the boot’s current fit. He ordered a wider size — and so far, so “very good,” Malkin said.
Could this be a season without equipment issues for the famously persnickety Malkin? Nope.
“Sticks not great,” he said. “Some too heavy, other light. Like, is not good. I don’t like.”
Malkin said his equipment is manufactured in China, instead of Canada, where Crosby’s is made. Malkin said that since Bauer began making skates and sticks in China, despite precise measurements requested from the manufacturer, “nothing is same.”
Malkin is working through various groups of sticks sent to the Penguins’ equipment staff. He plans to use the preseason games to find the ones that work best and go into the season with those — and then hope for the best.
Camp cuts
The roster was trimmed to 52 players after practices Thursday. There were no real surprises among the moves, and more are expected after preseason games this weekend.
(Photo of Ryan Graves: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
